Contributor: Kevin Donovan

Contact Information:
US EPA
Office of Environmental Information
1200 Penna. Ave, NW
Mail Code: 2843
Washington, DC 20460
Phone: 202 260 0346
Fax: 202 4011315
Mail: donovan.kevin-e@epa.gov  
Title of Presentation: EPA.Gov - Better Access to Environmental Information

Author: Kevin Donovan

Key Words: Environmental Information, EPA.Gov, Public Access, Web Site, Internet

Abstract:

Objective - Provide awareness and insight to four key EPA Web information activities geared to advance regulatory effectiveness and promote greater public access.

Scope - The paper addresses specific products, tools, and enhancements to the Agency’s Web site and information dissemination capabilities.

Issues - As Internet access has become more widespread, EPA data and information is being used more widely and in a broader number of applications than ever before. With currently over 500,000 Web pages available, and a monthly average of 90 million Web site hits, EPA.Gov is among the most active of all government web sites.

EPA.Gov contains a broad range of environmental information on many topics that include air and water quality, pesticide regulation, waste management, cleanup of hazardous waste sites industrial facilities, and scientific and technical research. Over the years, much of this information has been "stove-piped" in the various EPA programs. In many cases EPA programs receive their authority from singular pieces of legislation like the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, & Liability Act (CERLCA), to name just a few.

We know that to be successful in information dissemination, EPA.Gov must focus on the needs of its customers and provide more integrated information that cuts across the organizations and regulations. The public needs more community-based information and comprehensive national pictures of our environmental conditions. To help accomplish its goals, EPA is undertaking a number of initiatives aimed at providing better access to EPA data and environmental information.

This paper provides brief summaries of some key EPA information initiatives:

  • Information Products Bulletin - working the Environmental Council of States, EPA has developed an interim "Information Products Bulletin" designed to inform interested stakeholders and the public of upcoming significant information products, prior to publication, and in many cases provide opportunity for feedback on their development. <www.epa.gov/ipbpages/index.html>
  • Envirofacts is a data "warehouse" that offers a single point of access to a wide range of environmental data collected by EPA. Users can interactively search by facility name, geographic location, zip code or SIC code classification. EPA created Envirofacts to provide the public with direct access to the wealth of information contained in its databases. Envirofacts includes data on: air, chemicals, facility information, grants/funding, hazardous waste, risk management plans, Superfund, toxic releases, and water (including permits and drinking water). <www.epa.gov/enviro>
  • Enviromapper can generate maps displaying environmental information for the entire United States using data available through the Envirofacts Data Warehouse. EnviroMapper can combine several types of environmental information, such as drinking water safety, toxic and air releases, hazardous waste, and water discharge permits. This mapping application provides users with interactive Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities. It is particularly helpful at letting people "see" environmental problems in a spatial or geographic sense. This is particularly compelling in areas where multiple environmental problems exist. <http://maps.epa.gov/enviromapper/>

EPA’s Public Access Strategy will help establish a vision for the Agency’s public access activities - from collecting data to evaluating customer satisfaction with EPA’s products and services. To help develop the strategy we are meeting with our stakeholders – broadly defined as those who produce the information that EPA publishes - regulated facilities, state governments that collect data, as well as environmental organizations and researchers, to determine the best ways to expand and enhance access to EPA’s resources.

Conclusions - EPA.Gov has many customers for its information - industry, educators & students, state & local governments, Tribal governments, researchers, environmental & community organizations, and others. To be effective at providing the information its customers need, EPA must continue to pursue more integrated strategies at information collection and presentation. These four initiatives provide a glimpse into a much broader strategy that is continually in development to meet the demanding information needs of today and the future.